It is from this tree, which grows chiefly on the south side of the island of Jamaica, that the well-known wood used in the sheaves of blocks and pulleys is obtained, and also the medicinal gum resin known as guaiacum. Lignum vitae is one of the hardest, heaviest, and most useful kinds of wood. It is calculated to endure a vast amount of friction, and to bear the strain of enormous weights. The colour of the heart-wood is a very dark brown, and the sap-wood a light yellow. When the wood is used for the sheaves of blocks, it should be cut so that a band of the sap may be preserved all round, as this preserves the sheaves from splitting from the outside inwardly towards the centre.

The wood is very liable to split and crack in drying.

The weight of a cubic foot is 73 lbs., and the crushing force of a cubic inch in the direction of the fibre is about 9900 lbs.